Attachment for railroad flat cars



Jan.'14,1958 L J. L. HALL 2,819,688

ATTACHMENT FOR RAILROAD FLAT. CARS Filed Aug. 24, i954 2 sh99tS-$h9Qt la so I fl w L l T J24 Ill-II I. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/''IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II/III IIIIIIlIII/l 93 [27%2250? J27 Ch??? Z y 2%MM MMM 111? Jan. 14, 1958 J, HALL "2,819,688

ATTACHMENT FOR RAILROAD FLAT CARS Filed Aug. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 22,819,688 ATTACHMENT FOR RAILROAD FLAT CARS James L. Hall, Des Moines,Iowa Application August 24, 1954, Serial No. 451,917 3 Claims. or.105-374 unloaded from the sides and top thereof, they possess and havepossessed for the many years that they have been used, a seriousdeficiency, or disability. This deficiency is .that during suddenacceleration changes, such as occurs .in starting and stopping, there isa tendency for the load .carried on top of the flat car to shiftlongitudinally of the llnited States Pater-1H? .flat car, and when theload shifts it may pass over the end .of the flat car and strike a loadon an ad acent flat car, or strike the walls of an adjacent box car,thereby causing .damage either to itself, or to the adjacent car or tothe.

load carried by the adjacent car.

While this situation has existed for many, many years and while damageto loads and to railroad equipmenthas been, annually, in the amount ofmany thousands of dole.

lars, no successful economical solution tothis problem has ever beensuggested.

One reason that thisproblem has never been successfully solved is thatthe means for meeting the problem must be simple and economicallypractical, and must not.

destroy the advantageous features of flat cars heretofore noted.Apparently until now, no invention. has ever been able to meet theserequirements.

Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide a novelattachment for use in combination with railroad flat cars which, whenpositioned upon a railroad flat car, will operate to restrictlongitudinal shifting of loads carried thereby and will, thereby,protect the loads and adjacent railroad cars from damage occasioned byshifting loads.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel attachment forrailroad. flat cars which is operative to restrict shifting of loadscarried by said flat cars and which attachment does not detract, in anysubstantial manner, from the advantageous features of flat cars, such asfree access for loading and unloading of the flat car throughoutsubstantially the entire length of the flat car. A further object ofthis invention isto provide a novel attachment for railroad flat carswhich. is operative to restrict shifting ofloads carried by said flatcars and which is characterized by its simplicity of operation and.

inexpensiveness of constructionand maintenance.

Railroadfla t cars are usually provided with fastening means, oftenreferred to as stake pockets located along the side edges of the floorof the car or in the floor of i the car adjacentthe ends of the floor ofthe car. These stake pockets are utilized in the practice of thisinvenfication of the fiat car structure.

According to one feature of this invention, there is provided aremovable upright barrier, or end gate, to be placed across the open endof the flat car to help restrict shifting of the loads carried by thefiat cars, and brace means are provided for the upright barrier whichare located wholly outside, laterally, of the portion of the floor ofthe car upon which the load is positioned.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthe following description proceeds and thefeatures of novelty whichcharacterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity inthe claims annexed to and forming part of this specification.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a railroad flat car having mountedeach of its ends the railroad flat car barrier attachment of thisinvention. Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevation view of the Figure 3is a fragmentary cross-section view taken substantially on line 3-3 ofFigure 2.

Figure 4 is a cross-section view taken on line.44 of Figure 3. j I

Figure 5 is a cross-section view taken on line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a rear elevation view of the barrier and is takensubstantially on line 6.6 ofFigure 2. t

:Figure 7 is a cross-section view taken on line 77 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a cross-section view taken on line, 8-8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the connectionencircled by circle 9 in Figure 6.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a railroadflat car generally indicated ,at 10, which car includes a fioor 12appropriately mounted on the wheel supported trucks 14. The flat car isprovided withsicle girders 15 for providing additional strength to.

thecara The railroad flat car. is also provided with side stake pockets16, made of steel or the like, disposed along the longitudinal edges ofthe flat car, and end stake pockets 18 formed in the floor 12 of theflat car adjacent; the ends of the fiat car and having tubular inserts19, of

An attachment generally indicated at 20 is shown provided at each end ofthe railroad flat car. In the preferred use of the invention,attachments 20 are provided at both ends of a flat car, although anattachment 20 may be used only at one end of the car, asdesired'.

In its broadest terms, the attachment 20 includes an upright barrier 22,a pair of spaced braces 24-, means 26 securing the braces 24 to the sidestake pockets 16, an

elongated abutment 28 for engaging the outer. side of the barrier 20,and means 30 securing the abutment 28 to the end stake pockets 18.

In particular, the barrier 22 includes a wooden abutment wall 32, ofplywood or the like, having secured thereto, on the outer or rear sidethereof, a plurality of structural steel members including channels 34and angles 36. The abutment wall 32 may be formed in a plurality ofupright panel sections, and each panel has secured to it a channel 34 atits upright edges and an angle. 36 between the channels 34. The use ofpanel sections permits removal of damaged sections and substitution ofnew sections without having to replace the entire barrier. In thepresent design the barrier is formed of three panel sections. Thechannels 34 and angles 36 aresecured to the wooden panel 32 by anyappropriate means, such as by means of carriage bolts 38 which may bespaced, for example, 12 inches on centers.

The barrier 22 carries an elongated beam means generally indicated at 40mounted on the rear side of the barrier 22, in the upper half region ofthe barrier, or closer to the upper edge of the barrier than to thelower edge of the barrier. Thesebeam means 40 include a pair,

of channels 42 spaced by means of spacer bars 44. The means for securingbeam means 40 to the panel sections of the barrier includes a mounting,means generally indicated at 46. This mounting means includes a threadedbolt 48, that is bent near the headend thereof, as shown. The threadedbolt 48 operates through a nut 50 to cause a clamping plate 52 to engagethe channels 42 so as to clamp the channels 42 of the beam means 40against the structural members 34 and 36 of each. panel section,

as by welding. A spring 56 is provided between the head.

of bolt 48 and plate 54 to provide a resilient mounting between the bolt48 and the plate 54. The ends of f the elongated beam means 40 extendbeyond the side edges of the barrier 22 for a reason that will becomeapparent as the description proceeds.

The barrier 22 above described is adapted to be mounted in an uprightmanner adjacent one end of the flat car 10, with thewooden panel 32'facing the opposite end of the car and with the structural members 34and 3610- cated' outwardly, or on the rear side, of the wooden panel 32.An abutment 28 is provided for engaging the outer side of the uprightbarrier 22. This abutment 28 consists of a structural angle sectionhaving an upright leg 60 and a horizontal leg 62. The upright leg 60engages the structural members 34 and 36 of the barrier 22 and thehorizontal leg 62 is adapted to engage the floor 12 of the flat car. Abent plate 64 engages the upper side of the horizontal leg 62 and has ahook portion 66 which overlies the upper edge of the upright leg 60.Each said plate 64 has attached thereto by any appropriate means, suchas by welding, a pair of vertical plates 68 which are adapted to enterthe end stake pocket 18 andflengage the upper edge of the insert 19 asindicated at 28. Thus, the engagement of the structural member 34 withthe upright leg 60 of. the abutment, 28 limits the movement of barrier22 outwardly of the fiat car while the engagement of the heads 83 ofpins 82 with the latches 84 carried by the abutment 28 limits movementof the barrier 22 inwardly with respect to the flat car.

The braces 24- above referred to are telescopic and each includes anupper pipe member 86 telescopically mounted within a lower pipe member88. The braces 24 are adjustable as. the pipe members 86 and-88 haveregisterable apertures 99 into which. bolts 92-may beinserte-d to lockthe braces at various selected lengths. The pipe member 86 carries ahifiurcated member .94 at its upperend. The

bifurcated member 94 is pivotally secured to a mounting flange 96 bymeans of bolt 98. The mounting flange 96 is, in turn, secured to athreaded bar 100 which is adapted to extend between the channels 42 ofthe beam means 40. The threaded bar 180 carries spaced abutment plates102 and 104 which are adapted to engage the beam means 40 mountingmember 112 is, in turn, secured by means 26 to the: side stake pockets16 The means" 26 above referred to includes a plate 114' to I which thebifurcated mounting member 112 is appropri- The plate 64 has a threadedbore therethrou'gh to re 1' ceive a threaded rod 72. The rod 72 isshaped at its upper end to form a hand crank 74. A hook 76 is formed atthe lower end of the threaded rod 72, and there is mounted on said hook76 a plate 78. The plate 78 is smaller in one dimension than the innerdimension of the insert 19 and is larger in its other dimension than allinner dimensions of insert 19. This permits mounting of plate 78 on hook76 and insertion of plate 78 down through and below tubular insert 19,whereupon the plate 78 is pivoted on hook 76 to a horizontal position.The plate 78 is rotated with rod 72 as said rod 72 is caused'to beadvanced by means of. the threaded connection to the plate 64. Thus,plate 78 is adapted to move up into engagement with the lower edge ofthe insert 19 in stake pocket 18 and thus there is provided said means30 for securing the abutment 28 to the end stake pockets 18,

28 carries thereon a plurality of pivotally mounted latches- 84 whichmay be swung across the recesses 80 and be positioned between theupright leg 60 and the heads 83 of pins 82 to thereby lock the barrier22 to the abutment ately' secured, such as by Welding. The plate 114, inturn, carries a downwardly depending flange 116 bent there from, andanother flange 117, weldedto plate 114, and spaced in parallel relationto flange 116 to define a recess therebetween for receiving, in saidrecess, the upper edge of a side stake pocket 16. The plate 114 also hasa threaded bore therethrough into which isthreaded a headed bolt 118which is disposed substantially parallel to the downwardly dependingflange 116-. The headed bolt 118 carries a clamping plate 120 which isrotatably mounted on the bolt and which has an upwardly opening hook122. The bolt 118 carries a lock-nut 124, and the bolt 118 is bored at126 for entrance therein of a cotter pin .127, This arrangementconstitutes the means 26 for securing the braces 24 to the side stakepockets 16 by clamping engagement with the upper and lower edges of thestake pockets 16.

From the above it will be seen that there has been pro.- vided an endgate, or upright barrier; adapted for attachment to pro-existingflatcars which are providedwith stake pockets at the side and end edgesof the flat car. There are in use a great number of such flat cars towhich the construction above described may be attached. It will be seenthat the telescopic brace means are located wholly outside of the sideedges of the fl'at'car and thus do not interfere with any load whichwill be mounted within the lateral confines of the flat car, thuspreserving the capacity of the flat car. In addition, it will be seenthat by detaching the lower edge of the upright barrier from theabutment 28, the upright barrier 22 may be pivoted about the axes ofmounting bolts 98 until the barrier 22- lies substantially in the sameplane as the braces 24 and the. braces 24 and'barrier 22 may be pivotedabout the axes of the mounting bolts so that the barrier 22 and bracemeans 24 maybe collapsed for lying substantially flat on the floor ofthe car when not in use. If the beam means 40 should fall within theconfines of the flat car 10, when it is desired that the attachment becollapsed to" the non-use position above described, it will be seen thatthe brace means 24 may be telescopically expanded until the beam means40 are located beyond the edge'of the flat car 10, and in that way thebarrier 22. and'the brace means 24 can be caused to lie closely adjacentthe floor of the flat car when collapsed, to the HOB? use position.

In an actual design of this invetnion, the structural members that havebeen hereinabove described are of the following dimensions, although itis pointed out that design is merely typical and the invention beingclaimed herein is not restricted to such limitations of design.

While there has been shown and described a particular embodiment of thisinvention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variouschanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from theinvention and, therefore, it is intended in the appended claims to coverall such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

l. A removable attachment for use on an elongated railroad flat car thatis provided with stake pockets on the floor thereof including stakepockets along the longitudinal edges of the flat car; said removableattachment being mountable on and de-mountable from a flat car withoutadding any structure to, or requiring modifications of, the existingstructure of the flat car, said attachment comprising, in combination,upright barrier means of substantially the same width as the flat carand positioned transversely of the flat car, said barrier meanspresenting a front side, against which a load may abut, and a rear side;an elongated abutment engaging the rear side of said barrier meansadjacent the lower end thereof and removably positioned upon the floorof the flat car, and a first connecting means securing said elongatedabutment to stake pockets on said flat car; an elongated beam means ofgreater length than the width of said barrier means spaced above saidelongated abutment and secured to the rear side of said barrier meansand having the ends thereof extending laterally of said barrier means, apair of elongated braces each connected at one end thereof to an end ofsaid elongated beam means, said braces extending forwardly of the frontside of said barrier means and being spaced laterally outwardly of thelongitudinal edges of the flat car, and second connecting meansconnecting the other ends of said braces to side stake pockets on saidflat car.

2. A fiat car barrier attachment as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidupright barrier means comprises a plurality of individually replaceableupright panel sections connected to said beam means, and cooperatinglatch members carried by said panel sections and by said elongatedabutment member respectively for releasably connecting the panelsections to said elongated abutment member.

3. A removable attachment for use on an elongated railroad flat car thatis provided with stake pockets on the floor thereof including side stakepockets along the longitudinal edges of the flat car; said removableattachment being mountable on and die-mountable from a flat car Withoutadding any structure to, or requiring modification of, the existingstructure of the flat car, said attachment comprising, in combination,upright barrier means of substantially the same width as the flat carand positioned transversely of the flat car, said barrier meanspresenting a front side, against which a load may abut, and a rear side;an elongated abutment engaging the rear side of said barrier meansadjacent the lower end thereof and removably positioned upon the floorof the flat car, and first connecting means securing said elongatedabutment to stake pockets. on said flat car; elongated inclined bracesspaced laterally outwardly of the longitudinal edges of a flat car andextending forwardly of the front side of said barrier means and beingconnected at their upper ends to said barrier means at points spacedabove said elongated abutment, and second connecting means connectingthe lower ends of said braces to side stake pockets on said flat car.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS301,855 Bueno July 15, 1884 1,499,229 Laifey June 24, 1924 2,388,304Ackerman et a1. Nov. 6, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Loading Rules. Publishedby American Railway Association. 1930 (page 314), (Copy in Div. 34.)

